A book that offers convincing historical and environmental thinking.
A comprehensive survey of human history—which reveals a grave ecological predicament—suggests that reconnection with nature and redirection of technology could create a new, sustainable lifestyle.
“Somewhere along the way we lost sight of what it means to be human,” Stadtmiller (Electronics, 2003, etc.) laments in this book. In the search for an ever more convenient lifestyle, humanity introduced a false dichotomy between technology and nature, according to the author. Life should not be a contest against nature, he contends, but a partnership with it—with technology acting as a force for good rather than an instigator of pollution. As the title suggests, the book comprises three sections. The first is nothing less than a thorough, lucid tour through human history, from the Big Bang through the space race and the ascendancy of computers—quite an achievement in 170 pages. The author zeros in on human evolution: tool use, brain power, hunter-gatherers, and the rise of civilizations and religions. His short synopses of Christianity and Islam are especially helpful. In Part II, he considers the keys to life on Earth—energy, clean air and water, and biodiversity—and how these are changed through human action. For instance, he clearly and forthrightly sets out evidence for climate change in Chapter 10. The final section emphasizes the necessity of getting back to a “Native Earth Society” based on simplicity and respect for nature. His case for cutting consumption is not only environmental, but also monetary. The information about energy ratings and usage is perhaps overly technical for laypeople, but tips for ensuring appliances are as efficient as possible are straightforward. The advice embraces a continuum of radicalism: yes, some may cycle or carpool, the book acknowledges, but those who commute alone by automobile can still be environmentally conscious by checking tire pressure regularly, using cruise control, etc. A pleasant late section of the memoir relates how Stadtmiller’s early nature connection was developed at his grandparents’ Pennsylvania farm. His image of a future society—especially zero population growth—may seem too good to be true, yet he gives achievable steps for working toward one’s ideals.
A book that offers convincing historical and environmental thinking.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 407
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorker staff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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